Berlin-Transfer

Initial situation

Europe needs skilled workers: Particularly small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly facing problems in the competition for good, qualified personnel. At the same time, university and polytechnic graduates in many European countries, after completing their exams, are having trouble finding a job that meets their qualifications.

In Berlin, a city with an economy based on small and medium-sized business, the problem is particularly virulent. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in sectors decisive for the city’s economy (services, information and communication technology, new media, environment, etc.) are looking for—and not finding—qualified personnel. At the same time, Berlin is the city in Germany in which highly-qualified polytechnic and university graduates have the most difficulties finding a job after their training or after a period of unemployment.

One idea to solve both problems simultaneously is to make full use of Berlin’s labor market’s existing resources—on the demand and on the supply side. From September 2007 until December 2010, the project TraineePlus—Promoting and keeping skilled workers in small and medium-sized businesses in Berlin” helps job seekers find employment that matches their qualifications and supports businesses search for, secure and train badly needed personnel. The pilot project is managed by zukunft in zentrum (ziz) Berlin and is made possible by the support of the vocational qualification unit of the Berlin Senate Department of Integration, Labour and Social Issues and the European Social Fund.